Stovall starting in Tampa as Benn struggles

Posted by Michael David Smith on August 7, 2010, 11:10 AM EDT

The Bucs’ starting receiver position opposite rookie Mike Williams isn’t going to be a hot spot for production. You’re not going to want the winner on your fantasy team, and the player who emerges as a first-stringer in Week One may not have a long leash as the season progresses.

But this is a job No. 39 overall pick Arrelious Benn was supposed to claim. The current leader is veteran Maurice Stovall, according to Bucs wide receivers coach Eric Yarber.

“Right now [Stovall] is running with the 1s,” Yarber told the Tampa Tribune. “He’s having a real good camp. I like his work ethic, his range, and the way he gets in and out of his breaks. And I really like his mental approach. Everything he does is just so professional.”

Through four NFL seasons, Stovall has amassed just 44 catches for 579 yards and two touchdowns in 44 appearances, with ten starts. His biggest impact has come on special teams. Stovall’s placement with the first team is an indictment of the slowness with which Benn has developed in his first camp.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Benn “has been slow to learn the offense” and therefore is unable to practice at full speed. Benn also battled ankle problems in the spring after being nagged by an ankle injury at Illinois last season.

It’s too soon to call Benn a bust, but by all accounts, he is struggling.

If Stovall wins the first-team flanker job with Williams at split end and Sammie Stroughter in the slot, Benn could begin his rookie year as a fourth receiver. And he’s still got Reggie Brown, Michael Clayton, and special teamer Micheal Spurlock to beat out just to do that.

Wow this site is the biggest Bucs hater outside of Adam Schein……. So b/c a rookie isn’t going to be a starting WR in week 1 you are calling him a potential bust already!!!!!!! Unbelievable, you r a freaking moron!!!!!

A BUST? WTF. You people are clueless. Benn had by far the best practice yesterday of any WR. This is no more than a “SHOCK” site, where “bust” is used often to generate shock. Down the tubes this site has gone, and fast.

[[ NFC South training camp one-liners
Posted by Michael David Smith on August 7, 2010 8:25 AM ET Says Bucs coach Raheem Morris of his second-round rookie wide receiver, “Arrelious Benn is really starting to come into his own. You’re starting to see some plays from him. He’s making splash plays.” ]]
[[ Stovall starting in Tampa as Benn struggles
Posted by Evan Silva on August 7, 2010 11:10 AM ET]]
Benn must have had a bad three hours there.

Do we all read the same reporters the same way. Maybe I don’t read English very well but consider the quotes below:
Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times wrote that Arrelious Benn, a second-round pick, has been impressing coaches with a string of big-time plays, including a fingertip TD catch Friday.
“Arrelious Benn is really starting to come into his own,” coach Raheem Morris said. “You’re starting to see some plays from him. He’s making splash plays. What he’s been able to do, constantly, every day he’s getting better.”

NJLigerNJ says:
August 7, 2010 12:10 PM
[[ NFC South training camp one-liners
Posted by Michael David Smith on August 7, 2010 8:25 AM ET Says Bucs coach Raheem Morris of his second-round rookie wide receiver, “Arrelious Benn is really starting to come into his own. You’re starting to see some plays from him. He’s making splash plays.” ]]
[[ Stovall starting in Tampa as Benn struggles
Posted by Evan Silva on August 7, 2010 11:10 AM ET]]
Benn must have had a bad three hours there.
+++++++++++++++++++
cailte says:
August 7, 2010 12:56 PM
Do we all read the same reporters the same way. Maybe I don’t read English very well but consider the quotes below:
Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times wrote that Arrelious Benn, a second-round pick, has been impressing coaches with a string of big-time plays, including a fingertip TD catch Friday.
“Arrelious Benn is really starting to come into his own,” coach Raheem Morris said. “You’re starting to see some plays from him. He’s making splash plays. What he’s been able to do, constantly, every day he’s getting better.”
+++++++++++++++++++++
Isn’t this what PFT calls the typical ESPN discord, different and varying opinions on certain topics? Looks like PFT isn’t immune to the tendencies they rag on ESPN about.

OMG, in the exact same article that this idiot, Silva, took the article from:
“Apparently, he’s not alone. Michael Clayton and Arrelious Benn are playing well enough to steal that starting job from Stovall, but Stovall definitely has the edge.”
So what is it about the fact that “Benn is playing well enough to steal the job away from Stovall” suggests that he is struggling?
Apparently, it’s not just the readers of PFT that have reading comprehension problems, but the “writers” as well.

I was going to comment, but the other comments here already illustrated my opinion. I try to go easy on you bloggers, but it’s amazing that you all can even hint at the word “bust” after the first week of the first training camp of a rookie’s career.
It’s awesome that Mike Williams is doing so well, and there’s no doubt that puts extra pressure on Benn, but Benn will develop in his own time. I remember when The Dolphins Mark Duper and Mark Clayton came into the league together, and Duper started out much faster than Clayton. But after a year Clayton exploded and was widely considered more of a threat than Duper.

Let me get this straight; because Benn is not starting in his first training camp…as a second round pick…he is apparently treading on thin ice. Well apparently 95% of all rookie receivers are doomed by your estimation.
You sir, are an idiot.

Throwing out the ‘bust’ label a little prematurely aren’t you? Wonder how many folks (PastaBelly)thought PFT was a bust when it started.
Well he was as wrong as you are for even mentioning it at this stage of Benn’s career.